LOUISVILLE, Ky. / NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Eastern Kentucky University track & field teams had a busy weekend as they split to compete in the Bellarmine Classic on Friday and the Dr. Sander Invitational on Saturday, finding multiple golds and a new school record.

The story of the weekend was found in New York at the Dr. Sander Invitational as Justine Kipkoech and Taha Er Raouy were the first two Colonels in program history to ever break the four-minute barrier in the mile race, with Kipkoech penciling his name into the top spot of the EKU record book. It is the second new school record this season after Matthew See's weight throw at the Commonwealth Classic.

Kipkoech competed in the Pro-Elite division of the mile race, securing sixth-place in a 14-competitor field filled almost entirely of professional runners. The Kenyan native blazed a trail into the Colonel record books with a time of 3:57.57, shattering the previous record of 4:00.99 set by Ahmed Sayf Kadri just last year. The race was Kipkoech's first-ever competitive run in the mile on an indoor track.

Er Raouy, meanwhile, claimed the top step of the podium in the Invitational division of the mile by clocking a 3:59.93, the only athlete in all three heats to record a sub-four minute time. The new personal best bumps Er Raouy above Kadri on the all-time board as well, maintaining his second-best spot with an improvement of over a second over his previous best of 4:01.19.

Also in New York, Jan Badia-Celma secured the bronze medal in the Invitational mile, recording a new personal best of 4:01.53, putting him at fourth-best in the event in the Colonel record books. With the results, Kipkoech, Er Raouy and Badia stake their claim for the top 100 fastest times in the event in the NCAA this season at 25th, 51st and 68th, respectively.

The Colonels also found a number of medal performances in Louisville at the Bellarmine Classic. Aidan Herman and Khadija Ennasri swept the gold medals in the men's and women's 800m for the Colonels. Both secured their second gold medal of the season as Herman recorded a new personal best in the event with a time of 1:53.20 while Ennasri clocked a time of 2:15.20.

Aniol Borras and Mario Priego Montero both brought home silver medals in the men's 1 mile with Borras in the Seeded division and Priego in the Collegiate division. Priego finished with a time of 4:17.24 while Borras finished at 4:05.69, another new personal best for the Colonel squad. Cesc Boix also secured the bronze in the Seeded mile with a PB time of 4:06.56.

The personal bests kept coming for the Colonels as Lucy Thornton also brought home a medal with bronze in the women's 3000m with a time of 9:55.29.

In the field events, Lariah Wooden continued her dominant collegiate debut season with another gold medal in the women's shot put. Wooden tossed a distance of 44'-10.25" (13.67m) on her final throw to make it two gold medals and three overall medals in three meets for the freshman.

All three of Wooden's best throws this season have surpassed the previous second-best throw in EKU history of 43'-6" with her current personal best sitting at 45'-4.25" (13.82m).

UP NEXT

The Colonels will split up once more as they take on two meets in the Notre Dame Meyo Invite in South Bend, IN and the Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, KY. Both meets are set for Jan. 31 through Feb. 1.

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